Buddhism is the religion for 94.6% of Thailand’s
population. Of the remainder 4.6% are Muslims
and 0.7% Christian. Though the king is designated
the protector of all religions, the constitution
stipulates that the king must be a Buddhist.

Buddhism is a central and unifying force
in Thai society. The Thai regularly gain
merit by giving gifts to the temple, attending
festivals, and having their sons ordained.
In Thailand, Buddhism is a syncretic religion:
it incorporates a mixture of pre-Buddhist
Hindu beliefs and practices, interwoven with
animism and Theravada Buddhist philosophy
and rituals. Signs of the religious tradition
are everywhere in Bangkok and throughout
the country.

Soon after dawn, Buddhist monks in robes
(which vary in colour from dark saffron to
bright orange) make their way along the canals
and narrow streets. People wait to fill the
monks’ bowls with food and provide
other essentials, a practice that Buddhist
teaching says will reward the giver with
merit. Most young men become monks for a
short time so that they can accumulate merit
for their families. Almost every Thai house
has its own "spirit house" to accommodate
the spirits from the land on which the house
stands.

Population

The Thai people comprise 74% of Thailand’s
65.4 million population. Over 10 million
people make their home in the vast sprawl
of waterways and streets of Thailand’s
capital, Bangkok. The amazing growth of Bangkok
is primarily due to the heavy influx of poor
rural migrants.

Language

Four main dialects of the Tai language family
are spoken: Central Thai, Northeastern Thai
(Thai-Lao), Northern Thai and Southern Thai.
It was conventional to refer to Tai-speaking
peoples in Thailand as Thai with a regional
qualifier. Strictly speaking, Thai, the language
of officialdom and education, is the Central
Thai dialect. Linguistic scholars mark the
reign of King Narai (1657-88) as the point
when this dialect was established as the standard.
Central Thai became the required form used
in modern Thailand for official business,
academic and other daily transitions.

Economy

Wet-rice agriculture dominates the Thai economy,
with about 50% of Thailand’s population
living in rural agricultural communities.
Rice is produced both as a dietary staple
and for cash sales. Thai farmers also grow
a variety of vegetables. Commercial crops
include sugarcane, tobacco, rubber, coconut
and cotton. Domestic animals include pigs,
chickens, ducks, cattle and water buffalo.

Despite the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis,
Thailand’s economy grew almost 6% each
year, making it one of East Asia's best
performers in 2002-2004. Bangkok is the heart
of Thailand’s business sector and the
center of the country’s service industries.
Most of the country’s industry is located
in and around the city, and Bangkok supports
a far wider array of services than other
towns in the country. Besides being the major
metropolitan area, Bangkok is also the political,
educational and religious centre of the nation.

Political

The country is governed by a constitutional
monarchy. Each province has a governor, and
is divided into districts with a district head. There are further
administrative divisions down to the village
level.

Politics, Riots and Birthday celebrations

Sadly Bangkok was experiencing riots whilst
we were there which were in the area of our
hotel. Many streets were blocked off with
barbed wire and there were plenty of police
and military on the streets.

The protester stormed into many government
buildings but left peacefully. They stormed
the army headquarters, in an attempt to convince
the military to join their efforts to topple
the government of Prime Minister Yingluck
Shinawatra, who was elected in 2011. Her
brother was toppled by a military coup in
2006 and later convicted of corruption. He
has lived in exile to escape the charges,
which he says were politically motivated.
Many of the people think that the Prime Minister
is merely a ‘puppet’ for her
brother.

The demonstrations were triggered by an amnesty
bill, proposed by the Prime Minister that
would have allowed former Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra to return home and avoid
a two-year jail term for corruption. The
Senate rejected the bill, but protests have
continued. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra,
survived a no-confidence vote in parliament
and refuses to step down. She vows not to
use violence to stop the protests.

Thailand’s revered King Bhumibol Abulyadej
celebrated his eighty sixth birthday on December
4th and there was a truce for the day whilst
people celebrated his birthday. He asked
for calm and renewed stability of the country.
On his birthday most people wear some yellow
and they are many stores decorated in yellow.
There was a big celebration in the streets
around the Royal Palace.

Loy Krathong Festival

This occurs on the full moon in the twelfth
lunar month, which was 17th November, 2013. When the moon shines at
night it makes the rivers clear and suitable
for floating Kathrong, which are small floating
rafts made of natural materials such as banana
trunk and lotus that are then dressed with
a candle, incense stick and flowers. As these
are floated in the river the people ask for
good luck and forgiveness from Pra Mae Knongkha.

A parade of illuminated festival boats go
along the river for the Loy Krathong festival
but you can also see them the previous few
nights as they practise their timing. Public
river transport is cancelled for the evening
and the ferries are hired out for private
functions. We went on the ferry booked by
our hotel and watched as dining guests floated
their rafts. Hundreds of lit lanterns were
let off into the sky. Normally, there are
fireworks but this was abandoned this year
due to the recent death of the Thai Buddhism's
Supreme Patriarch (aged 100). The country
was in mourning for 3 months.